63rd Annual Conference

Saturday, February 25

Early Bird Open Sessions

7:30-8:30 A.M.

Session 228

Inpatient Groups in an Age of Brief Treatment: Is There Time for a Group in the House?

Chair:         

Arnold Cohen, M.S.W., Ph.D., CGP, Associate in Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts

Presenter:         

Catherine Deering, Ph.D., CGP, Professor of Psychology, Clayton State University, Morrow, Georgia; Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, School of Medicine

This session invites the participants to explore the challenges of leading inpatient therapy groups in a “house divided” with competing agendas between organizational mandates for brief treatment with psychoeducational groups and clinical wisdom that values the role of process-oriented groups as an integral part of the healing process.

Learning Objectives:

The attendee will be able to:

1. Discuss the role of process-oriented groups in facilitating positive clinical outcomes on inpatient units.

2. Review research findings supporting the use of process-oriented groups in inpatient settings.

3. Evaluate various models for group leadership in inpatient settings.

4. Explore challenges facing inpatient group therapists and formulate solutions for maintaining the primacy of group therapy as a treatment modality.

Course References:

1. Burlingame, G., Earnshaw, D., Hoag, M., Barlow, S., Richardson, E., Donnell, A., Villani, J. (2002). A Systematic Approachh to Enhance Clinical Group Skills on an Inpatient Unit. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 52(4), 555-587.

2.  Pica, M., Engle, S., Welches, P. (2003). An Experiential Approach to the Inpatient Anger Management Group. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 53(2), 177-200.

3. Yalom, I. (1983). Inpatient Group Psychotherapy. NY: Basic Books.